There's an old saying, and it goes along the lines of "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"...and to a degree that maybe true. What better way to show your respect and adoration for someone or something, than to be just like them? It shows that you hold something so highly in value, that the only way you can do it justice is to copy it. Cover bands are a different kettle of fish, they do what they do, as good as they are it's an easy way out...but to be "original" and yet completely derive your content from other artists takes a confusing amount of skill, it's incredibly rare and in this instance I am quite frankly dumbfounded. Let me introduce you to FLOVER...a band who have NEVER MET EACH OTHER...that's right...(voclist Fabio is from Italy, while the rest of the music comes from Kolya, from Russia, it's been done over the internet) and if you love your gothic rock, well you may very well be interested in a little Flover flavour...they've recently dropped a brand new album by the name "Dark & Sweet"...the next big thing in goth? Or your last Match.com search? Let's check it out...

We open up with "Cruel Romance" and some beautifully delicate piano playing, it's like a soft lullaby, lulling you into a sense of security before the guitars come crashing in with their morose yet melodic tone. For the most part chugging along, it's simple enough however the solo is well executed and breaks the track up nicely, while vocally it's deep, not Pete Steele deep, but deep enough...it can be likened to artists such as LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE and ENTWINE who have clearly had some level of influence on Flover and essentially, it's a good start; a good gothic rock song. The Entwine influence can be heard through "She's Alone" too, the riffs here are simplistic but hypnotic and the tone is despairing, the vocal performance is lighter and it's a pleasant listen, though the inclusion of a brief pause mid song leading towards a fade-out is a strange one, it adds nothing to a mid-album track and would have benefited being a closing piece, although that's just me being picky...

The biggest influence on Flover though, it has to be said...are HIM. Some of you may appreciate this as, naturally, HIM have called it a day and there's a huge Heartagram shaped hole in each and every one of us now (I am not ashamed to say that I cried when it was announced they were splitting up)...but when you hear some of these songs, a lot of you are going to be like "Wait a minute, this isn't influenced by, this is practically stolen from!" and you'd be spot on in thinking so..."Lovekiller" for all it's bombastic intro not only parodies "Heartkiller" in name but some of the guitar is ripped directly out of the track, the chorus is even similarly paced and structured and it's almost on the verge of piracy..."Charms Of The Reaper" virtually copies the cigarette lighting intro from "Venus Doom" but instead of a match I believe he's used a Zippo? The tone here isn't as heavy or intense but again it opens with a similar formula, leading into softer vocals, while "Crystal Love", despite its quaint piano qualities is a blatant not to "Funeral Of Hearts", it's completely unavoidable. Elsewhere tracks like "Serpent Poison" and "R.V.P.II (Kiss Your Lips)" are plucked right out of the "Razorblade Romance" era, while the remainder of the album while not unpleasant, plods along with a sense of candy-coated misery.

Now, depending on where you stand with the situation regarding HIM, you can take this record in one of two ways...you can either be incredibly offended by this, arguing that HIM haven't even actually said goodbye yet, there is still a tour to come, and for a band to be so blatant in the usage of their material in any capacity might make some bitter, I mean they even call it "Sweet Rock", akin to "Love Metal"... the corpse hasn't even gone cold yet! On the other hand, you can look at it like this; gothic rock is sparse enough as it is, you never get many artists or bands truly embracing this kind of music, and it reminds me of another saying; "If you steal from one, it's plagiarism, if you steal from many, it's research"...and while Flover are walking a fine line in that aspect...it's still a genuinely good gothic rock album. Fuck it, it's mostly HIM, it's bound to be! I wonder what Ville Valo would make of this...[8]

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Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x